Obtain Lopsided: A Memoir Developed By Meredith Norton Shown In Edition

surprising book about cancer, It's not sad and depressing it's funny,

My only gripes are that Meredith is a little perverted, And she describes things too well, But I guess I should expect that in a book about breast cancer, This book made me laugh at a time when there isn't a lot to laugh about, It gave me hope and insight, I loved this book written by an AfricanAmerican breast cancer survivor who possesses the dry amp dark humor that I also love, She is getting welljustified rave reviews, She, her husband, and young son were living in Paris when she was diagnosed, After some problems with French doctors, she returned to her family in the states to receive her treatment, She chronicles her cancer journey with side trips through her past life which are liberally sprinkled with humorous selfdeprication, I really did laugh out loud throughout this book, In an halfhearted attempt to look at other cancer memoirs everyone who gets cancer turns around and writes a book, just like me, I came across this one.
I'm not doing a lot of reading on cancer, In fact, I'm doing frightfully little, My "dip" into the literature is scanty at bestbut this one looked interesting,

Then I looked up the author, and discovered she had died infive years after the book came out in, I really stopped, unsure I'd read her memoir, But I tried a few pages anyway,

I was instantly in love, She was doing what I really want to do: using her cancer as a vehicle to write awesome stuff, She had talent, wit, humor, I loved it. Strong, strong voice. A book on cancer that isn't really about cancer,

Alas, it got a little tiresome, The end didn't amount to much though how does one end a memoir on cancer, Her humor, which had a nice bite, got a smidgen too biting, The flashbacks, too, which were so funny were intermingled a bit clumsily,

That said, I think it's my favorite cancer book so far, precisely because she was a writer first and a dying woman third or fourth or fifth.
I really love stories about the mingling of cultures, and this one is the strongest when she talks about being a black woman from America married to a white man from France.


Which brings me to her surviving husband, I'd love to talk to him for my book, Thibault, if you're reading this, contact me, I'm sorry for your loss, Really so very sorry.

Ah, Meredith Norton you are hilarious, This book was absolutely hysterical which made such a real book very readable, I don't mean real like she described every little procedure in medical terms which a lot of these kinds of books have done but real like your best friend was real when she told you about that one night stand she wished she hadn't had.
I loved this. It surprised me with some laugh out loud moments,
Meredith is trying to figure life out, She's a free spirit who is constantly following her whims, When she finally decides to settle down, she's in Paris with her husband and they have a child, Desperate for a change of scenery, Meredith and her baby boy fly to the US to spend time with her parents, While she's there, she pulls out her boob for her mother's inspection, Her mother's reaction scares Meredith into seeing a doctor, The good news is Meredith hasn't lost her sense of humor and allows you to ride shotgun on the story of her life.


This book is a really fun read, Meredith is an extremely likable person and I truly hope that she uses her writing talent to tell many more stories, If you have boobs, you should read this book, And this isn't a book that's just for the ladies, I actually knew a guy in his early twenties who passed away because of breast cancer, With smartass sass, Norton's memoir about her breast cancer treatment is humorous, sincere and intimate, This book has been more helpful and comforting than anything else I've read while undergoing treatment myself, I'm not sure what I expected from this book although it was promoted as Sedarislike, so they had me there, That part disappoints, as Norton is not all that funny, Sardonic and narcissistic, yes, but NOT funny, Granted, the subject matter isnt all that funny breast cancer, and while I did appreciate her practical approach to her disease and treatment, I guess I expected a little more heart and a lot less sarcasm and this is from someone who appreciates sarcasm, believe me.
Her use of explicit language and notsofunny life stories smacked of trying too hard, If she had focused on her disease, and its meaning, this would have been a better memoir, But the fact that she admits that she didnt want to do that while going through treatment begs the question: Why would you then write a book about it i laughed so hard at some of the comments author had made in the book.
In an attempt to be witty, Norton often comes across as grumpy,

Also, in an anecdote from being fourteen at summer camp, was it really necessary to refer to your bunkmate as a 'bull dyke', with 'lesbianstyle' pants Are we to assume that she was out then, or if out now and it is written reflectively Or were you just expanding on your previous description of her aggression "It is my firm belief that adversity only strips the insulation from the foundation.
If the foundation is weak, corrupt, or solid, its nature is simply revealed, Few situations are so harrowing as to build or deplete character, You either have it, or you don't, " Meredith Norton

Norton shows her character as being resilient, witty and one that continues to defy stereotype, Whether it be one of race, a person with an illness, or that of an American expat living in Paris, This book is laughoutloud funny which isn't something you can often say about a memoir of illness, I am not sick with cancer, nor is any I know, thankfully, but if I should one day suffer the random fate of that horrible disease, I hope I can half even half the wit, and selfdeprecating humor that Norton displays in this terrific quick read of a book.
What do you do when you live in France, married to a French national and return home to visit your family in California and receive terrible medical news What do you do when your doctors tell you that your chance of surviving cancer isWhat do you do when your son is onlymonthsold and has little concept of what mommy is going through For Meredith Norton, you face it with intelligence, humor and a strong family support system.
Lopsided is a fresh, witty and at times brash memoir about breast cancer, It reminds me a bit of Amy Silversteins Sick Girl in that Norton holds little back and is honest and open about everything from the doctors to the pain to the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation and to her feelings about friends and family coming out of the woodwork to visit her after hearing about her diagnosis.
“The three worst groups of people to tell were the ones that had heard and didnt know what to say when they saw me, the cancer survivors who expected me to feel some sort of camaraderie, and the pitiers who refused to believe that I wasnt secretly a hysterical, hopeless, vomiting shell of my former self.
”

Norton, the child of a surgeon, grew up in an exclusive neighborhood and attended private school, “My privileged upbringing had instilled in me a sense of entitlement that didnt need reinforcing, That is really the American dreamnot working hard and buying things, but reaching a place where there is no pressure to acknowledge that you already have everything.
” She was often one of only a few black girls at her school and has many white friends, A few of the friends she had who have since gone their separate ways now contacted her when they heard she had cancer and tried to make amends for their youthful disagreements.
Theres one girl, Amy, who accused Meredith of stealing money from her on a ski trip even though Amy attended school on scholarship and Meredith came from a more wealthy family.
The entire thing reeked of racism for Meredith at the time and she walked away from Amy forever,

Woven through her experiences as a cancer patient, Norton reminisces about her life experiences, Before she became an expatriate and moved to France and married Thibault, Norton had many occupations, She worked for three years as an innercityth grade English and U, S. history teacher. She produced a game show in England, For three years, she and her best friend Rebecca ran a design company called Norton Whittaker Inc, that went bankrupt and nearly destroyed their friendship,

Norton chronicles her unilateral mastectomy “What was left of my chest, my lone boob, served no purpose whatsoever but presented plenty of problems.
If I wanted to appear presentable, I was forced to wear a falsie”, losing her hair “no stubble, just smooth, rubbery skin stretched tight and waxy.
I spent hours caressing it, ”, chemotherapy “About midway through the chemo my nails started to change color, My fingernails were so sensitive that I found myself lifting things with the heel of my palm and turning pages with my elbows.
Slowly, the purple crept higher and higher up my nail bed and the white slowly pulled back to meet it, ”, chemotherapy also caused her to void a grayishbrown noxioussmelling urine, hot flashes they caused her to sweat right through her pillow even when sleeping in her underwear, fear of her mortality “But what the therapist said was true: if I died prematurely Lucas wouldnt even have any context in which to place me.
”, and her distain for cancer survivor Lance “Live Well” Armstrong,

Theres a plethora of memoirs in the bookstores these days but I assure you that you will not regret reading Nortons Lopsided.
Whether you have a connection to cancer or not, Lopsided is a scintillating read, Norton is your friend, your college classmate, Shes that sassy woman you want to join your book club or invite for a cup of coffee, Her sharp, sardonic sense of humor propels this book from page one,

“When Rebecca found me in a corner at the Puma Outlet trying on a black wool cap and came at me with open arms it was the first time since skinnydipping in snow runoff that I welcomed a hug.
Since the diagnosis, all the hugs may have been intended to help me, but were really serving the hugger, Suddenly, these embraces were a refuge that I could hide my knobby, gray head behind, I was so ashamed to be contaminated by this ugly disease and have it broadcast so publicly”,
I heard Meredith Norton on the radio a few weeks back getting interviewed about this book and reading passages of it, I was somewhere onand I remember the moment so clearly that the side of the freeway wall is now, unforgettable, Her wit, humor and skewed perspectives were so funny and inspiring that I ordered the book almost as soon as I was not driving.
Now that I have read the book, I am a tiny bit disappointed, Although I enjoyed it very much, in fact I laughed so loud in bed that Dutch had to put the pillows over his head so he could continue sleeping.
It wasn't a long book, and it ended suddenly, so the overall effect was that I only read half the book, I wanted to know what happened to her husband Thibault, because her auther's blurb only mentioned herself and her son "living in Sonoma Co" and he didn't even get a mention in the acknowledgements, even though he is a constant, supportive presence in the book.
I was also irritated by the jacket's constant comparison of her to David Sedaris, which I really didn't think was fair or true.
Sedaris comes off in his writing as having a teflon, slightly nonhuman core, while Norton's vulnerable self is clearly evident, I eagerly look forward to any more books she choses to publish, Tried to read this coming up to the anniversary of my own diagnosis and couldn't manage it, Maybe someday. This book made me laugh harder than I've laughed in a long time, I laughed so hard at points that it made me cry, I laughed through the first half of the book, and was engrossed in the whole thing, She is a smart ass who is great with irony as the title implies,

The narrative bounces around in ways that are hard to follow at times, but she gives great and fun insights into ordinary life and relationships over time with family and friends.


You may have to have a smart ass sense of humor to really love this book, but her wise cracking take on things is refreshing.
Well worth the quick read, Hopefully, Meredith's story is one most women will never have to experience outside the pages of a book,

In this memoir, Meredith managed to share the serious details of her breast cancer with an amazing sense of humor, Her story could easily be overwhelming without her ability to drop in comments and observations that make you smile, . . even giggle in spite of the seriousness of the subject matter,

Nominated for a Books for a Better Life Award, whether you have battled breast cancer or know someone who has, you should read this book.
Those who have had breast cancer will likely recognize their similar stories in

these pages and those who have been lucky enough to avoid it, there is something to learn here.
As women, we can all relate to her and feel compassion as she plays the cards life dealt to her, .